It was a very quiet ride home. Loretta stared out the passenger window and said nothing and I stared out the windshield at the road in front of me and...was quiet. When we got home I went into the den and turned on the TV. I sat there channel hoping, not because I was looking for anything in particular, just to have something to do with my hands while my mind churned with what I'd found out. I swear I almost could have accepted Loretta's taking a lover, but giving it away to anybody who told her. Earth had nothing of the scale required or that could make it to the outer belt in time. Every great mining ship in the system immediately set course for their last known position. It was a frantic race to dig down to the habitable space from the nose of the ship, install temporary airlocks and ferry people into pressurized bays before the damaged ship's environment totally collapsed. Under such extreme pressure their un-tuned environmental controls DID go into oscillation and their engineers. Sasha rolled Grey’s eyes and sat next to them and crossed her husband’s arms. They didn’t speak but the guys elbowed each other and grinned like boys about to uncover their Dad’s porno mags. Lauren entered and Sasha didn’t want to look but the guys kept elbowing her each time Lauren would turn to the side. Finally Sasha looked up and sure as day there was Lauren in a shameless top that even outside the right light would have left little to the imagination but when she turned just right the top. Knowing that Bjorn was the father of a child that she was not the mother of somehow upset her very deeply inside. Her attempts to hold those emotions in check were not very successful with poor Bjorn bearing the brunt of it. Bjorn did try to understand but it was still making him feel rather miserable himself all the same. He left that hotel a few paces behind the others and stayed that way as they wandered the fascinating little streets of down town Ulm.Bryce and Glenda could sense the tension.